connectBlue Signs Strategic Contract with Kollmorgen
Jan. 13, 2011
connectBlue, the pioneer of wireless industrial solutions, today announced that it has signed a strategic initial contract with Kollmorgen, a leading provider of vehicle control solutions.
The delivery encompasses ready-to-embed Wireless LAN modules to be used in driverless lift truck automation where there is a need for a compact, robust and reliable vehicle control solution.
Driverless lift truck automation requires a high performing, non-stop solution in an environment where small size is of key importance as well as having a reliable operation during temperature variations, vibrations, humidity and dust. Besides these extreme conditions, high demands are placed on the technical implementation from all the connections that have to be established with roaming between multiple access points during every route.
"Regardless of external conditions, the technical implementation has to be fault proof 24-7," says Markus Johansson, Product Manager, Kollmorgen. "As we developed our CVC600 vehicle controller, we thoroughly scanned the market for a wireless partner and chose connectBlue and their proven, compact Wireless LAN 802.11 a/b/g/n module."
"We were already used to tough demands from various industrial automation applications," says Rolf Nilsson, CEO, connectBlue. "But driverless lift truck automation needs extra attention to exceptional environmental conditions, reliable and on-going operation, low latency as well as rapid roaming – all at the same time. These demands present an interesting combination that certainly will open up opportunities for other applications with unusual high demands on wireless communication."
The Wireless LAN Module OWL221a from connectBlue supports 802.11 a/b/g/n and has been developed for integration in industrial devices providing state of the art low power features and dual-band support for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio bands. The module version that Kollmorgen is using for the CVC600 vehicle controller has a connector for external antenna and a board-to-board connector for the connection to the board control-unit.
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